The long wait is officially over. It is game week for the Rio Hondo Prep Kares as they host the Schurr Spartans in what many could argue is the most anticipated Opener since Rio took on Arcadia back in 2012. Our very special guest, Tarek Fattal, will help us kickoff the 2025 Season with a bang. You can find Tarek on CBS alongside Jim Hill on Sundays as Fattal shares his thoughts on high school sports across the Southland. Additionally, Tarek Fattal writes for Sports Illustrated and has been covering high school athletics for a decade. He and I have a long discussion about the noise Rio Hondo Prep has made the past few seasons as well as where they stand among other successful programs. Tarek Fattal has also started a YouTube show every Monday night dedicated to the best high school football coverage in Southern California. You will be ready to run through a brick wall after this episode, but we will settle for you coming out to Kare Park in Irwindale as the Spartans and Kares go at it with the utmost respect for one another and a pride in their schools that could hold its own amongst the best in the area.

We are just one week away from kicking off the 2025 Football Season. As we close out our Senior Sons episodes, the parents of Yanick Diaz and Tyler Dang take us across the finish line. Both of their sons are Team Captains this year and have made massive contributions to both Championship runs in 2023 and 2024. Diaz and Dang have hit on plenty of big plays in the passing game over the years as a Quarterback and Wide Receiver duo. Their connection through the air and their leadership on the field should put Rio Hondo Prep in a great position to do something historic once again in their Last Dance.

As the boys are back on the practice field, we hear from another couple of moms and dads from our Senior Families. Today we have the parents of Easton Jara and Jacob Gomez to discuss what the past 3 years at Rio Hondo Prep have meant to their families. Both young men arrived at RHP under very different circumstances, and it goes to show you just how special the Rio recipe can be with a wide range of ingredients. Gomez has been plagued by season ending injuries the past two years, and he couldn't be more hungry to finish things off in the strongest way possible. While Jara is a dedicated Soccer player who will end up competing at the next level in College, he is embracing the opportunity to contribute to Rio Hondo Football and might end up making a bigger impact than he or his family could have ever imagined.